Police arrest 5 protesters for blocking traffic in downtown Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado Springs police say that five people were arrested for refusing to leave the roadway during a protest Thursday evening near City Hall.
While tensions have simmered since the large-scale protests in Colorado Springs following nationwide solidarity with George Floyd's killing, new protests have popped up in the Springs in response to a CSPD officer allegedly writing "KILL 'EM ALL" on a KRDO livestream of protests last month.
An internal affairs investigation into the comments by the officer is being conducted, CSPD said.
The group Colorado Springs Oversight wanted Mayor Suthers to hold a press conference and give an update on the investigation by Thursday to promote government transparency.
Protesters took to the streets at the intersection of N. Nevada Ave. and Kiowa Street Thursday, screaming chants of "Arrest Steven Eric," which is the pseudonym the officer allegedly used while making the comments on Facebook.
Protesters can be heard yelling, "Arrest Steven Eric!" It's the name associated with a Facebook profile allegedly linked to a @CSPDPIO officer who commented "KILL EM ALL" on a @KRDONC13 livestream of BLM protests in June. Mayor @JohnSuthers has stayed silent on the investigation pic.twitter.com/CdSmwA5qyF
— Lauren Barnas KRDO (@laurenbarnastv) July 24, 2020
But CSPD says that some of the protesters were observed throwing glass bottles at drivers and yelling at them as they attempted to drive through the intersection, according to a police report. Officers say they gave repeated orders to the protesters to clear the road for about 10 minutes, but some of the protesters didn't leave.
In total, two men and three women were arrested for misdemeanor charges of Obstructing Highway or Other Passageway, and they were booked into the El Paso County jail. Their names are expected to be released Thursday afternoon.
We're not publishing the name of the accused officer until CSPD determines its next steps in the investigation. Police initially told us the officer in question was "on vacation," but it's not clear if he's still on active duty.
The Colorado Springs Police Department has said it cannot comment on an active internal affairs investigation.
“It’s not available to the general public while it’s going on,” Lt. Jim Sokolik, Public Information Officer for CSPD, said. “It’s not available to the officer involved. It’s not available to just anyone who wants to know about it.”
